Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi, on Thursday asked a delegation of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the ministry of health to go on 14-day isolation or leave the state immediately.

Kogi and Cross River are the only states which have not recorded any case of the disease in Nigeria. Last week, Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general of the NCDC, had expressed dissatisfaction with the samples collected from the states, saying more tests need to be done. But the Kogi and Cross River governments had indirectly accused the agency of plotting to infect residents of their states with the disease.

When the team visited him at government house, Lokoja, the state capital, on Thursday night, Bello said the rules laid by the World Health Organisation (WHO) would be strictly followed. WHO had recommended a 14-day quarantine for travellers after which tests would be conducted. Noah Andrew, leader of the delegation from Abuja, had presented a letter titled: “Deployment of Rapid Response Squad to help in fighting Covid-19”, to the governor, explaining the mission of the health officials in the state.

“We are here to support the state in shipping swabs and samples and ascertian the preparedness of the state in fighting Covid-19,” he said. Speaking shortly after receiving the letter, Bello outlined steps taken so far by the state to fight the pandemic. He said that the state is highly experienced in fighting infectious diseases such as Lassa fever and malaria, adding that the experience has been brought to bear in fighting COVID-19. He consequently asked that the NCDC officials be subjected to testing and isolated in the state quarantine center or should leave the state immediately.